Britain secures place in Nations Cup top tier

Britain secured its place in the show jumping Nations Cup top league for 2013
after finishing third in the final leg at Dublin, though only after Olympic
hero Nick Skelton gave fans a fright by lowering four fences in the first
round.

By Phillipa Cuckson

7:56PM BST 17 Aug 2012

British team manager Rob Hoekstra had used the first four of the eight-round Nations Cup series to test out possible Olympic contenders rather than chase series points, but fielded a serious squad at Dublin which included Robert Smith (Voila IV) and John Whitaker (Argento) on 2013 team prospects.

Hoekstra said: "Our focus this year has always been on winning an Olympic medal whilst also ensuring we finished in the top half of the league table. As a team we’ve delivered on both counts."

The contrary nature of show jumping was well illustrated in Dublin, with Tina Fletcher and Hello Sailor, reserves to the British team at London, jumping one of the Nations Cup’s only four double clear rounds. Likewise Ireland – who failed to qualify a full team for London – won their home event, usingClem McMahon, Richie Moloney and Darragh Kerins. They were sufficiently ahead to have no need of the four-fault score of Olympic individual bronze medallist Cian O'Connor on Blue Loyd 12, or for O’Connor to jump a second time.

Exactly what the top league will comprise in 2013 remains unclear. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has subsidised the Nations Cup to the tune of more than £3million for the past two years as no sponsor could be attracted. In May it announced that the Saudi Equestrian Fund would back it for the next six years, though only with a radical shake-up involving the abandonment of the top league, involvement of many more countries, the introduction of a seeded knockout formula which could eliminate some teams after only one round and the exclusion of traditional venues such as Hickstead, Dublin, Rome and Aachen. A backlash by European federations and show organisers forced the FEI to rethink, though it has not yet disclosed any revision.

Will Connell, Team GB’s equestrian performance director, said: “I don’t think anyone will be happy with fewer than six Nations Cup opportunities in a season. Without them, we would have no opportunity to test out the likes of Robert Smith and John Whitaker’s good young horses in a team situation.”